Monday Developments 

Abstract: Education alone is not sufficient to reach gender equality the third of the Millennium Development Goals” Sarah Newhall president of Pact and co-chair of InterActions Commission on the Advancement of Women told the annual CAW breakfast. Education is a necessary but insufficient action to achieve gender equality" she said. While recognizing that the inclusion of "gender equity testifies to the power and impact of the global womens movement" June Zeitlin CEO of the Womens Economic Development Organization noted that the remaining seven Millennium goals are presented as "gender neutral." The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by heads of state in 2000 as a global development framework. (excerpt)

Abstract: At the end of June the Zambian Red Cross in coordination with the Ministry of Health helped vaccinate five million children between the ages of six months to 15 years against measles. The integrated campaign delivered an unprecedented number of health interventions at the same time. To combat malaria 75000 insecticide treated bed nets were distributed to vulnerable families with children under five. Vitamin supplements and a de-worming medication called Mebendazole were also administered by some 1800 Red Cross volunteers. (excerpt)

Abstract: The number of HIV/AIDS orphans already in the hundreds of thousands is multiplying and overwhelming Africas traditional extended family coping mechanisms. The 1994 genocide and flight of Rwandans into neighboring countries contributed to the crisis by increasing the number of rapes destroying health networks and bringing hundreds of thousands of people in overcrowded refugee camps. It is estimated that over 300000 orphans and vulnerable children have been living in child-headed households since the genocide. Deaths due to HIV/AIDS will only serve to increase that number. In Rwanda Africare has opted to concentrate its efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS on young people aged 14 to 24 years old in partnership with their parents local authorities schools local community-based organizations and anti-AIDS clubs. Through activities designed to appeal to youth the project aims to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and promote prevention and care in semi-urban and rural communities. The partnership between Africare and young people in fighting HIV/AIDS includes community-based self-help counseling and education groups in Gikongoro Town and Karaba Districts of Gikongoro Province. (excerpt)

Abstract: The focus of International Literacy Day on Sept. 8 will be literacy and gender as the United Nations continues the International Literacy Decade announced two years ago. (excerpt)